Join the Hilltopper Family

Can you see yourself making a positive impact at WKU? We offer an inviting and challenging work environment, responsive to the needs of a diverse and ambitious learning community. See our open faculty and staff positions. Employment Website.

Jim Wayne Miller Celebration of Writing

The Jim Wayne Miller Celebration of Writing is a contest hosted annually by WKU and
is open to students in an English major or minor as well as those in creative writing
classes.

The contest is named after Dr. Miller who taught German language and literature at
WKU for over thirty years until his death in 1996. Among writing essays, short stories,
and plays, Dr. Miller could be best known for his poetry and numerous books including:
Copperhead Cane (1964), The Mountains Have Come Closer (1980), Newfound (1989), and
more.

Jim Wayne Miller Celebration of Writing 2015

Congratulations to the winners of the 19th annual Jim Wayne Miller contest:

First Place – David Haydon

Second Place – Hunter Conner

Third Place – Dakota Phelps

The ten finalists for the 19th annual Jim Wayne Miller contest were:

Brittany Brown

Tanner Cole

Hunter Conner

David Haydon

Jocelyn Hood

Jarred Johnson

Kellie McDermott

Dakota Phelps

Rachel Sudbeck

Megg Wright

Jim Wayne Miller Celebration of Writing 2014

Congratulations to the winners of the 18th annual Jim Wayne Miller contest:

Fist place:Derek Ellis, JOHN LENNON: A DAY IN THE RYE

Second place: Bryna Sims, A LETTER TO ANOREXIA

Third place: Holli Frye, STAR-SPANGLED SEX

The ten finalists for the 18th annual Jim Wayne Miller contest were:

Britanny Eldridge: WHISKEY AND TURNTABLES

Derek Ellis: JOHN LENNON: A DAY IN THE RYE

Riley Finwood: WHAT I LEARNED IN IRELAND, I THINK

Isiah Fish: MELANIN OR MELANCHOLY

Holli Frye: STAR-SPANGLED SEX

Collin Hancock: SUPPER AT 10

Jarred Johnson: GENEALOGY

Kyle Marshall: MEMORY OF A LAKE WHERE YOU NO LONGER SWIM

Savannah Osbourn: THE MONOCHROME FILTER

Bryna Sims: A LETTER TO ANOREXIA

Jim Wayne Miller Celebration of Writing 2013

Congratulations to the winners of the 17th annual Jim Wayne Miller contest:

First place: Maggie Woodward, MISSISSIPPI SOUND

Second place: Jarred Johnson, EIGHTY CANDLES

Third place: Isiah Fish, WHAT MAKES US MEN

The ten finalists for the 17th annual Jim Wayne Miller contest were:

Isiah Fish: WHAT MAKES US MEN

Rachel Hoge : THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW RAINCOAT, for Ernest Hemingway

Jenn Hulsey: ARE WE HUMAN OR ARE WE DANCER?

Jarred Johnson: EIGHTY CANDLES

Georgina Kleinhalter: SHORT CUT

Brandy J. Meredith: A JOB WELL DONE

Paul Richard Watson: THE TOWER OF BABEL

Madalyn Wilbanks: BATTLES END

Joanna Williams: UNTITLED

Maggie Woodward: MISSISSIPPI SOUND

These talented writers participated in a writing workshop, conducted by illustrious
author, Silas House, on October 27th. They also were recognized later that day at
the 17th annual Jim Wayne Miller Celebration of Writing.

Jim Wayne Miller Celebration of Writing 2012

Congratulations to the winners of the 16th annual Jim Wayne Miller contest:

First place: Krystol Stinson

Second place: Isiah Fish

Third place: Jaclyn Melcher

Other finalists were:

Rachel Hoge

Samara Skinner

Haley Parker Rinehart

Maggie Woodward

Winners and finalists were announced at the annual Jim Wayne Miller Celebration of
Writing on Oct. 21, 2012, which included a reading by Lexington author Ed McClanahan.
The finalists were chosen by an outside panel of judges and the winners were selected
by McClanahan. The authors of the top 10 stories participated in a workshop by McClanahan.

Jim Wayne Miller Celebration of Writing 2011

Congratulations to the winners of the 15th annual Jim Wayne Miller contest:

First place: Brittany Lee Cheak

Second place: James Mote Jr.

Third place: Krystol Stinson

Other finalists were:

Isiah Fish

Amy Lindsey

Jaclyn Melcher

Brittany Moster

Kasey Vaught

Elizabeth Wells

Clint Waters

"Good poetry will deal with ordinary things...and still manage to evoke a sense of wonder, of the miraculous."